Chiff and Fipple Forums

Hi all,
need a bit of help. A long time ago I picked up a UP of Boston practice set. Not surprisingly, I quickly got incredibly frustrated trying to wrestle the octopus and put it aside. Now a couple of years later, I seem to have forgotten all the humiliation that it inflicted on me and trying to give it a go again.

But, is this right?

The bellows appears to not be leaking. And the bag appears to be holding air. But, every time that my right arm moves away from my body, air from the bag goes back into the bellows , essentially the bellows is drawing air from the bag.

Is this right? Is there some sort of valve that is not working or gone missing?? where would the valve be ? in the bag, the hose or the bellows?

Thanks!

Yes, there is a simple leather flapper valve between the bellows and the bag that allows air to move into the bag but not out on the blowpipe end. It is either stiff from years of non-use, or has become rotated to a position where it does not shut easily. The flapper valve will usually be on the end of the blowpipe, where it goes in the bag. Remove the blowpipe from the bag, and look at the orientation of the round leather flap. It should be hanging down, with the small leather "hinge" at the top.

THANK YOU!

I will check that tonight. I knew something was off But, just could not figure out where.

And just to clarify.. The valve should inside of the bag. I am guessing it is in the (plastic part) where the tube connects. I should be able to just reach a finger in and flip it down to cover the inside of the assembly?


Thanks!

Do you not have a pipe that inserts into the bag connector? My flap valve is attached to the end of the pipe. The pipe is easily removable, as it is a thread-wrapped tenon. Most pipes are set up this way so we can get at the valve easily.

Sounds like yours might be designed differently or else you're missing the connecting pipe altogether. It is highly unlikely that you can just reach a finger inside to fix the problem.

seanc wrote:And just to clarify.. The valve should inside of the bag. I am guessing it is in the (plastic part) where the tube connects. I should be able to just reach a finger in and flip it down to cover the inside of the assembly?


Thanks!

The valve will usually be on the end of the blowpipe, where it goes into the bag. If you just pull that end of the blowpipe out of the bag, you should be able to easily see it and manipulate it on the end of the pipe.

Just to illustrate the replies above here's a pic borrowed from another thread :




The stock is tied into the bag, you can pull out the blowpipe to inspect the valve. It should lie flat/fit snugly against the end of the blowpipe with the 'hinge' on top so gravity will help closing it

FWIW..
The bag is a "wee piper"

from memory. I don't remember seeing any flap/ valve on the (plastic) pipe that connects from the bellows to the bag.

This should have nothing to do with the bag. See Mr Gumby's picture. The piece on the left (blowpipe stock) should be tied into the bag. The valve everyone is talking about should be at the left end of the blowpipe and you can see it just a little on the left end of the blowpipe in Mr. Gumby's picture. The plastic tube you are talking about that goes to the bellows probably inserts over the right end of the blowpipe.

If you post a picture of your blowpipe, pulled out of the blowpipe stock, and the other related parts, all lined up like in Mr Gumby's picture, that would probably help.

Ok, here is the update.

The valve on the blow pipe looks like it (was) is a an O shaped piece of leather with a tab. The tab appears to have been glued to the pipe stem and the O is at a right angle covering the opening. It appears that the leather separated the O from the tab. The tab was still attached to the stem and the O part had fallen off. Surprisingly, I was able to find the O part.

I glued the O piece back on to the tab. Definitely NOT a great or permanent solution. But it should hold on until I can find a scrap piece of leather to make a new flap. Seems to be rather a weak design as it looks like the tab section had been shaved down from the thickness of the O flap, a few times connecting and disconnecting and the weak section just gave out.

Leather is a tough material, and this design has been used on the pipes for centuries. Since these flaps can last for a few decades, I'm not sure how this would be classified as 'rather a weak design'. One isolated incident doesn't mean all bagpipes have a flawed design.

Some(most?) of us disconnect the tubing and leave the pipe in the bag whenever possible. If your set has this option, it might be a good habit to start.